All In My Head
by fanzel12
Summary: When he feels like no one is on his side, Rio meets and confides in the most unexpected person in the most unexpected circumstance. After getting to know one another, they question the decisions they've made and contemplate the ones they have yet to make.
1. Chapter 1

I don't think I've read any Rio-centric works so I started writing one. I intend to put a little more focus on Rio's life than I have before and if people are interested, I'll continue.

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He didn't get in until after daybreak that morning so him sleeping in until late afternoon wasn't a shock to her. His phone constantly vibrating, on the other hand, caught and kept her attention. She sat on her side of the bed as her eyes darted back and forth from Rio's noisy phone to his sleeping face. She loudly cleared her throat multiple times, but he didn't budge until she finally did it while he was stirring a little. His eyes blinked open before he let out a ferocious yawn.

"What time is it?" he asked, voice groggy from the hours of deep sleep.

"Almost 4 o'clock. Your phone's been blowing up."

"It can wait."

He moved closer to her and laid his head on her hip while his hand grabbed a thigh.

"No. Who's calling you so much?"

"Fuck, Nat. Don't start." he groaned.

Rio and Natalia had been together for a few years and when things were good, they were oh so good. But when things were bad, they were horrible. They had known each other since Natalia moved into Rio's neighborhood when they were in high school. Mutual friends tried all of high school and then some to get them to hook up and it turns out, all they needed was cheap tequila to make it happen. But that was a one time thing...until it wasn't. They found themselves hooking up every once in awhile because it just felt good and familiar. They felt their biggest mistake was making things official; then came the jealousy and lack of trust. But they hung in there no matter how many times they argued, no matter how many times Rio came home to his clothes being thrown out on the lawn. What they had wasn't healthy, but the familiarity is what kept them together. Her understanding the kind of life he lead and loving him in spite of it kept him around.

"Don't start?" Natalia shouted, abruptly moving from the bed and standing to her feet. "How many fucking times have we been through this?"

"And how many fuckin' times have you caught me talkin' to other women?! Never!"

"I think you just hide it well, Rio, if we're being honest."

"If we're bein' honest, you're crazy."

His phone started its umpteenth vibrating streak and it was like it fueled Natalia's fire.

"Answer the bitch." she spat before storming out and slamming the bedroom door behind her.

Rio just shook his head, sat up, and answered his phone.

"Yeah."

"The money's gone." a voice said, panicking.

"My money?" Rio asked.

"My money, your money. We got hit this morning! Where the hell have you been?"

"Meet me at the spot."

Rio considered himself an entrepreneur. He moved up the ladder from drugs to money laundering in no time and besides the big payout, the fear and respect people in his neighborhood and city had for him was the reason he'd never get out of the game. Three black SUVs lined up in an old, abandoned parking lot and waited for the owner of the Fine & Frugal grocery store, Martin, to pull up. Rio jumped out as soon as Martin pulled into the lot and got out of his car damn near shaking.

"What the hell happened to my money?" Rio asked right away.

"I don't know. Three women came in and robbed the store at gunpoint this morning."

"Women? You let three bitches snatch my money?" Rio asked.

Although he laughed, Martin knew he wasn't in a joking mood. He watched Rio's hands as one landed near the waist of his jeans where his gun was tucked and the other went into the air and made a "come hither" motion to the black SUVs. Out of the SUVs jumped four large built men, all brandishing handguns and walking towards Martin.

"Hol' up." Rio commanded and they stopped in their tracks. "Marty, I'm gon' look around, see if any of my boys saw anything. And for your sake, I hope they did. 'Cause if I don't find who took my money, you'll pay with your fuckin' life. You got that?"

Martin shook his head up and down quickly.

"Got it." he said, letting out a deep sigh.

Rio knew there was only one place he could find peace as well as good advice and even better food. And after the day he's had, he feels like all three would do him some good. The drive to his parents was a long one. He thought about how although this hit wouldn't set him back too much, the level of disrespect outweighed that fact. But all the anger about the money bullshit and the girlfriend bullshit momentarily drifted away when he walked into his parent's house, his childhood home, and the aroma from the kitchen wafted to his nostrils and welcomed him. Before he could even close the front door upon entering, his mother's voice called out to him in a much less peaceful way than he was hoping for.

"Rio? Get in here!" he heard her yell from the kitchen.

"What did I do now, Mami?" he asked as he walked into the kitchen, greeting is mother with a kiss on the cheek.

"Natalia called me today. Crying. Bawling! What did you do?"

He eyed the plate of food she was making and she mistook that as him ignoring her.

"Are you listening to me? What did you do?" she asked again.

"Nothin'. She's just bein' insecure…again."

"A woman's intuition is never wrong, mijo."

"Her damn…her intuition must be broken." he started and quickly corrected after receiving a glare from his mother.

"She loves you so much, but you love being out there more. I feel sorry for her."

"Feel sorry for me havin' to hear her mouth about things I'm not even doin'."

"Tomas! Your food!" she called out, placing the full plate on the kitchen table.

Rio took the opportunity to change the subject and grab a clean plate from the cabinet.

"This is gonna hit the spot. It smells really good, Mami."

"None for you." she protested, taking the plate from his hand. "You need to go get your own house in order."

She may have been talking about the situation with Natalia, but Rio's mind went directly to his money. He had to stay focused and determined to find out who crossed him, who had disrespected him so blatantly.

His father walked into the kitchen and took a seat at the table.

"Well, look what the cat drug in. You must've smelled your mother's cochinita pibil."

"She won't even feed me, Pops." Rio laughed.

"Natalia called me today, crying her eyes out, and Rio doesn't care."

"You always take her side without even knowin' what's goin' on."

"Rita, don't send the boy to argue on an empty stomach." Tomas said, taking in a bite of his food.

"Fine. I'll fix Natalia something and if she wants to share it with you, she can." Rita compromised.

"I'll take that." Rio said, shrugging and laughing.

Rio went home, gave Natalia the food, kissed her cheek, apologized "for whatever" he did wrong and got nothing but an angry girlfriend in return.

"For whatever you did? That's the problem! You never admit to anything you do wrong!"

"What the hell do you want from me?" he asked.

"I…I don't know." she finally admitted. "I want you to be a man and be honest with me. Give me just as much time as you give your boys or any of that street shit."

"I do!" he yelled.

"You don't! You come in after the sun, you sleep all day, you're in the streets all night. What does that leave for me?"

"I'm tired of talkin'. You wanna stay mad, stay mad 'cause I'm done. I got more important shit to worry about."

"And that's the problem, you fucking asshole!" she screamed at him as he walked away.

He went to bed hungry.

The next morning, he got the call he had been waiting on. After one of his boys let him know about three women he saw, lurking around the back of the grocery store the morning before, it wasn't hard to find out who these women were, where they lived, and much more. He was given the low down on a single mom who lived in a shitty apartment complex and worked at the very grocery store he washed his cash at, a housewife whose husband owned a car lot, and a diner waitress who was married to some fake ass security guard.

Now his only dilemma was figuring out which woman would most likely have his money stashed away. He went by the diner and spotted Ruby bustling around, then he called Marty and found out Annie would be working at the grocery store until closing. That left Elizabeth, the stay at home mom and housewife. Surely she'd be home.

He got one of his boys to drop him off and circle the block a few times before he stalked to the backyard of the pretty nice house. He started to make his way up a deck to double doors, but the figure he spotted through sheer curtains stopped him in his tracks. He saw a woman with a very voluptuous shape strut through a bedroom in nothing but a towel. He watched as she sat at the foot of the bed, taking her time rubbing lotion onto her body started with her legs. He could've sworn she was moving in slow motion because it felt like forever before she finished. She stood up from the bed and dropped the towel that was covering her body.

"Shit." he said quietly, meaning to only say it in his head.

She had curves for days; ample, pillowy breasts that rivaled any he had ever seen before, hips that curved and led to nice, thick thighs. She grabbed the pair of light blue lace panties that were lying on her bed and stepped into them.

"What the fuck?" he asked himself, quickly turning around and making quick steps back down the deck.

This wasn't him. He wasn't some creep who perped on unsuspecting women. But it was like seeing her put him in a trance, a trance that made him do something he wasn't proud of. By the time he reached the front yard and pulled out his cellphone, his boy pulled up. Rio pulled the door handle before the truck even came to a full stop and hopped in.

"That was quicker than I expected, man."

"Uh, nobody was home." Rio replied, looking straight ahead.

"Now what?"

"I don't know, Shaw! Can I get a fuckin' second to think? Just take me home."

At this point, Rio would erase the past couple of days with the snap of his finger if he could. And the last thing he wanted was to have a conversation with his boy while his dick was hard as rock from the show some housewife unknowingly gave him just a minute ago. He just needed to get home ASAP mainly because this quiet ass drive was awkward as hell.

As soon as he walked through the door, he kicked his boots off.

"Natty!"

"What?"

He followed her voice to the kitchen, where she was standing at the counter, looking over take-out menus. He stood behind her, running his hands through her long dark hair and tossing it over her right shoulder. His mouth began leaving a trail of wet kisses along her exposed shoulder and up her neck.

"What are you doing?" Natalia asked him, laying her hands flat on the counter.

"I'm sorry, baby." he replied, his mouth still working on her smooth brown skin. "I'm sorry for all the shit I put you through. All the yellin', not bein' home, all of it."

She sighed as his hand gripped her hip.

"Yeah?"

"Mm-hm. I'm real sorry. You forgive me?" he asked, moving a hand underneath her camisole and up the flat plane of her stomach.

"I don't know yet."

His hand roamed up until it reached her breast; he squeezed her nipple between his thumb and index finger.

"What you say?"

"Yeah. I forgive you." she moaned.

Her knees were getting weak. Times like this is when they realized how good they were together. They knew each other's buttons; they knew how to get each other off steady and quick or so slowly it killed them. He pressed his erection against her ass and that was all it took for her to go crazy. She unbuttoned her jeans and tugged them down, revealing a light blue thong.

"Ah damn." he groaned.

"You like these?"

"Fuck yeah." he answered, his mind flashing back to the nude housewife stepping into her panties just a little while ago.

Natalia was the complete opposite of the housewife that was in Rio's head. She was slim with dark hair that came halfway down her back. Her skin was deliciously brown. Her breasts weren't nearly as big as the housewife's; they were a little more than a handful each, but he never had reason to complain. As a matter of fact, sucking on her dark brown nipples was one of his favorite things to do with her.

He pulled her thong down before he undid his own jeans and tugged them down as well. He pulled his hard dick out of his briefs and stroked it while Natalia leaned down, her breasts pressed against the cool surface of the counter. Rio reached around and placed his hand between her legs and began massaging her clit. When she had gotten good and wet and couldn't take the teasing anymore, she grabbed his wrist and guided his fingers to her wet entrance.

"All that arguin' had us missin' out, huh?" Rio asked.

"Yeah." she moaned, her bottom lip being squeezed between her teeth.

She started to turn around to face Rio, but he grabbed her hip and stopped her.

"Nah, I want you like this." he said, mentally trying to justify to himself that there was nothing wrong with having another woman on his mind while his girlfriend was on his dick.

He slowly pushed into her, his eyes closing just as slowly. He thought it had to be the most satisfying feeling he had ever felt and surely the only way it could feel better is if he was screwing the housewife in actuality, not just in his head. All he could imagine was the housewife turning around and catching him on her deck, but instead of her covering up, she'd move the sheer curtains so he'd have a clear view inside of her bedroom. The scenario in his head was as clear as day.

 _The voluptuous housewife sat on the side of her bed, facing the glass double doors and him. She looked straight at him as she spread her legs and moved her panties to the side, exposing juicy lips already glistening with her arousal. She took two fingers and parted her lips before dipping down to her wet entrance. She didn't take her eyes off of him as she slowly pushed two fingers into herself and began stroking her clit with her thumb. She was moaning so loud that he could hear her from outside of her door. And before he knew it, he was inside of her bedroom, standing in front of her with no barrier between them. He instantly dropped to his knees and removed her fingers so he could have a taste. He wanted to be smothered between her legs and that's just what she was going to allow. He got closer and closer to her center until finally, his tongue..._

"Goddamn!" he groaned, filling Natalia with his seed unexpectedly. "Fuck!"

He leaned over onto her back, still jerking inside of her, and heavily breathing against her ear. She let him regain his composure before they separated.

"You must've really missed me, huh?" she asked, stepping out of her jeans and thong, then turning to face Rio. "You've never come so hard and fast."

"Yeah." he lied. "I missed you, baby."

He pulled up his briefs and jeans, then started to walk out of the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" she asked him.

"I got a lot on my mind right now. I need to clear my head before me and the boys take care of some business in the mornin'."

"Rio. I love you."

"Love you too, Nat." he replied, his back still turned to her.

Rio didn't understand why this perfect stranger was on his brain like this. Yeah, he's sure any man in the world would want to fuck that housewife, but here he was lying in bed next to his beautiful girlfriend in the middle of the night and all he could think about was what he walked up on earlier that day. After not getting a wink of sleep, the morning hit him like a brick wall. He spent most of it thinking about telling his boys to sit this visit out in case he happened upon the same sight as last time. But they were just as ready to wreck some shit as he was.

No one was home when they arrived so they let themselves in.

"Stay right here, I'm gon' look around." Rio said, dismissing himself and leaving his boys in the kitchen.

He slowly walked around until he found what he was looking for: the housewife's bedroom. There was something that she and Natalia had in common. They both kept their homes, especially their bedrooms, spotless. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't think anyone ever used this room thanks to its pristine condition. He caught a glimpse of himself walking towards the tall chest of drawers and shook his head. What the fuck was he thinking? First watching this woman get dressed, now sneaking around her bedroom. This wasn't him. Seconds after he heard the front door open and close, he heard a scream and something hitting the floor. He grabbed his gun from his waistband and rushed towards the scream.

"Elizabeth, right?" he asked, making the startled woman turn to face him.

She stood there, visibly shaking.

"Who are you?" she asked, voice just as shaky as the rest of her.

Rio stepped closer to her, looking her up and down. He tried his best to ignore the hint of cleavage that caused him to relive seeing her naked in his head.

"You can take whatever you want!" she shouted at him, holding her hands in the air.

"I'm here 'cause you took somethin' of mine."

"I don't know you!" she screamed, assuring him that he was at the wrong house, that he was making a mistake.

"That's obvious. 'Cause if you did, you would've thought twice before pullin' such a amateur, bullshit stunt. Takin' my money and all."

Then it hit her. He knew about them robbing the grocery store.

"But...how? We didn't know it was yours. Please, don't hurt me." she begged.

"Gimme twenty minutes."

He got nothing but confused looks from his boys until he gave them a stern look instead. They slowly strolled out of the front door. Rio saw the tears welling in her eyes so he tucked his gun away.

"You and your lady friends got balls to steal from me." he told her.

"I swear we didn't know it was your money. We don't even know you." she explained, wiping away the tears that had fallen down her face.

"Gotta be more careful, Elizabeth."

"It's Beth." she corrected.

"Well, _Beth_ , y'all owe me a whole lotta money. So I'll be seein' you again soon, yeah?"

He didn't conceal the fact that he was checking her out, his eyes slowly roaming over her body. He took extra time admiring the way her jeans hugged her curvy hips.

"Tomorrow, same time?" he asked nonchalantly, walking away. "And make sure your girls are here too. _Beth_."

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I hope you enjoyed! If you liked it, hated it, loved it, let me know! Leave a comment or message me and let me know what you think and if I should keep going. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Rio kept his distance from Beth for a little over a week and the last thing he wanted her to think was that she was in the clear. She was far from it, but the images he got in his head whenever he thought about her weren't conducive for effectively taking care of business. Things with Natalia were good from the outside looking in, but he could notice that she was starting to tell something was wrong. The way he acted was different, the way he was distant during sex was different. Granted, they were at their peak in terms of how often they had sex recently, but she realized he didn't really make eye contact like he used to and the energy between them just wasn't the same.

He opted for meeting Beth alone this time, but he was regretting telling her to meet him in the usual abandoned lot. He should've chosen a more public place so maybe his mind wouldn't be in the gutter the entire time. He stepped out of his vehicle as soon as he saw Beth's van pulling into the lot. She parked right next to him and he hopped in, closing the door behind him, and looking straight ahead.

"We have most of the money." she said, breaking the silence.

"Most don't mean shit to me. You took _all_ of my money, I want _all_ of my money."

He finally turned his head to look at her. From the side, he could see the top of her full breasts peaking out of her v-neck sweater. He realized the way he was staring and fully expected a hand to slap him across the face for it. He looked up and his eyes met hers, a slight look of fear on her face.

"You ain't gotta be scared of me." he assured her.

"Shouldn't I be? I don't know you and you broke into my house with men and guns."

"I wouldn't hurt you. But I'm hellbent on gettin' my money back so somethin's gotta give."

"We can't give you money we don't have." she explained, almost pleading. "Ruby's daughter is getting sicker and..."

"You ain't gotta tell me your sad stories. I know all about you ladies and it don't change what you did."

"Listen..." she paused, squinting her eyes like she was trying to remember if she had ever heard his name. She hadn't.

"It's Rio." he answered, like he could read her mind.

"Rio. We're sorry for what we did, but we had to do it. There's just no way we can pay all of it back."

"Your husband has a car lot, yeah? That ain't bringin' in cash?" he asked her.

"How do you know what my husband does?"

"I told you I know all about you ladies."

"Well, whatever money my husband is bringing in goes straight to his child bride." she said, then instantly regretted it because why is she sharing such an intimate thing with this stranger?

"And you ain't put him out?"

"We're working things out. Or trying at least. We have children and I just can't do it without him"

"He didn't care about you or your children when he was with another woman."

The look on Beth's face let Rio know that he spoke out of turn.

"You don't know me. You don't know my husband. So don't act like you do. If you don't have anything to talk to me about, get out."

Before he could say anything, her cellphone rang and she answered it.

"Hello." she said quietly, getting nothing in response. "Hello?"

They hung up and she checked the number.

"It was the number you called me from earlier." she told Rio.

"Shit."

She'd never seen someone move so quickly. Without a word, he got out of her van and into his car, speeding off.

As soon as he stepped into the house, Natalia was sitting there in their living room, his phone in her hand.

"You left your other phone here. Were you with her?" she asked.

"It's not what you think, Nat."

"You were just with her?!" she yelled, standing up and throwing his phone into the wall.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Rio asked, walking over and picking the now busted phone up off of the floor.

"Is she who you think about when you fuck me, Rio?"

"You're crazy!"

"Who is she?" she asked.

"Nobody! That was business!"

"Rio, I've known you since high school. I know you're lying." she said, sitting back down.

"I swear to you, Natalia, it's just business."

"Then why have you been acting so differently? I can tell when she's on your mind." her voice breaking. "You think about her when we're together. That's a new one."

"'Cause I ain't ever cheated on you." he said, taking a seat next to her.

"But you have now?"

"Hell no."

"Then what makes this different? Why does she make you act like this?"

If he was completely honest with himself, he truly didn't know. If he could stop this hold Beth had on him, he would. But he didn't understand where it came from so he wouldn't even know where to start. She was all in his head the majority of the time, no matter what he was doing or who he was with. And there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"It's nothin', I'm tellin' you."

"That day you came home and apologized to me in the kitchen, you saw her that day?"

He answered her question with a simple nod.

"You were thinking about her when you fucked me?" Natalia asked.

Again, he nodded, answering honestly.

"I don't care what kind of business it is, I don't care who you send to do it with her. I don't want you to ever see her again."

"Okay, baby." he conceded.

He had never been so confused in his whole life. He and Natalia had argued hundreds of times within their years together, but he had never seen her look so sad. He guesses she was always angry because she suspected him cheating on her, but now that it felt this real, she was hurt and sad instead. That was never his intention. He never cheated on her because he really did have love for her; she had stuck with him through all kinds of bullshit. She saw sides of him that no one had ever seen and he was thankful to have her so he mostly blocked out the bad times. He sat next to her and watched the tears stream down her face for a minute or two before grabbing her hand.

"I really am sorry, Natty." he said as he leaned over and kissed her cheek, then rested his head in the crook of her neck.

Any plan he had for the ladies, he handed over to his best friend and right hand man, Shaw. Natalia blocked Beth's number from Rio's phone. Then when he got a replacement for the one she broke, she blocked her number from that one too. Intimacy wasn't back to normal right away, but after taking the next few weeks to calm down, Natalia was comfortable having sex again. It was like things were finally back to normal. Things were finally good again.

After missing a few of their weekly dinners with Rio's parents, it felt good to be back at the dinner table with them.

"You wouldn't believe the house Doris's son moved her into. It's like a shopping mall." Rita bragged.

"I bet it's nothin' compared to what I keep tryin' to get you."

"Mijo, I'll be cold in my grave before I leave my home. And even then...I'll come back."

"Please don't." Tomas laughed.

"I'll get you in the house you deserve to have one day." Rio told her.

"No, no, no. This is home and there is nothing better." Rita replied, standing and grabbing the empty plates from the table.

"I'll help you." Natalia said, picking up she and Rio's plates and following Rita to the kitchen sink.

"I'm so glad to have you two back over."

"Well, you know how it is with Rio. It's hard to get him to behave."

"I heard that." Rio interrupted.

"I meant for you to." Natalia replied, walking over to Rio and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "But you've been amazing lately."

"Thank you for my credit, baby."

She heard his phone vibrating and looked at him.

"I'll get it." she said, holding her hand out.

Rita turned away from the dishes she was beginning to wash, her eyebrows furrowed.

"It's Shaw." Rio said after pulling his phone out and looking at the screen. He handed the phone to Natalia.

"Hello." she answered.

"Hey, Nat. Where's Rio?" Shaw asked.

"Here he is." she answered and handed the phone back to Rio.

"Yeah?"

"There's a lil problem at the warehouse."

"I'm there." he said, hanging up without saying anything else. "I gotta go. I'll drop you off at home, baby."

"I'll ride with you."

He sped off to the warehouse he used to transform what simply looked like wrapping paper into useable cash. It didn't take more than two minutes to set the fucker trying to get over on him straight. And just as _that_ fucker pulled out, a new problem pulled into warehouse.

"Shaw, what the fuck is this?" he asked.

"They must've just got back with a new load."

Beth got out of the SUV she was driving and walked up to Rio and Shaw, Natalia standing a few feet behind them.

He hadn't seen her since that day in the lot and he had done a pretty decent job of not thinking about her, especially when he was with Natalia.

"You ladies have a nice trip?" Shaw asked.

"It never gets less anxiety-inducing. But we got it." Beth answered.

"And that's all that matters, right?"

Rio stood there, baffled. What the fuck was this witty banter about and why was she talking to only Shaw like he was just a lamp next to them? He looked taken aback, but he didn't utter a word because Natalia may not have known that the woman right in front of them was Beth, but he sure as hell wouldn't bet that she wouldn't figure it out.

"I actually have a proposition for you. Can we talk?"

"Yeah. You can head out now, Rio." Shaw said before walking away with Beth.

"You can go now?" Natalia started. "Who is she and why is she running something by Shaw?"

"Uh, it's his connect so I let him handle it." Rio answered.

"So? This is your shit and he's telling you when to show up and when to leave?"

"You makin' a big deal outta nothin'." he told her. _And you have no idea how bad you didn't want me doin' business with this woman._

"Fine. I just find it a little disrespectful of him, of them both."

"Let's get home." he said, ignoring what she said completely.

Natalia walked ahead of him and he took the opportunity to sneak a peek at Beth. He spotted Shaw talking and laughing with her in a corner and he wanted nothing more than to grab her and pull her to him. He wanted to scold her for not acknowledging him, for acting cordial with Shaw right in front of his face, for not even caring enough to ask him where he's been. All it took for her to be back in his head was seeing her for just a few seconds and hearing just a couple of sentences out of her mouth. He _wanted_ her mouth so badly. She looked over at him and their eyes met, but unlike him, she immediately looked away. Like his presence didn't phase her at all. And _that_ made him want to hatefuck her.

When he got to the car, he made a hasty decision to run back inside.

"I'll be right out, Nat. Gotta holla at Shaw about somethin'."

By the time he made it back into the warehouse, Beth was standing at the back of the SUV, watching some guys unload the boxes. He didn't really have a plan beyond approaching her so that's all he did. He just stood there for a few seconds before speaking.

"Your trips across the border been goin' okay?" he asked.

"Uh, sure. We really only had trouble the first time, but it hasn't exactly been smooth sailing at any time."

"I gotta go, but I...was wonderin' if you'd be home tomorrow. Figure I should ask nicely instead of just showin' up with men and guns this time."

"Shaw said that you wanted him to handle everything from now on."

"Yeah, but don't get it confused. I'm still in charge." he started, walking away. "See you tomorrow."

He didn't know why he did that or why he had even said any of that to her. But he spent the rest of the night contemplating what he was going to talk to her about. Maybe about the fact that the first time he saw her, she was ass naked and didn't know he was watching. Or maybe about how he fucked his girlfriend thinking about her. Or maybe about how for a while, he couldn't get her out of his head. And sometimes, he still can't. Morning had come and he showed up at her door, still unsure of what to say.

She invited him in and they sat quietly at her dining room table, him at one end and her at the other.

"I have parent-teacher meeting to get to." Beth said in an attempt to hurry him along in whatever he had come for.

That explained why she was dressed up. When she opened the door wearing a simple, long sleeve burgundy dress with a cinched waist that flowed to her knees, he mentally assured himself that it couldn't have been for him.

"I could tell you took offense to what I said last time we met so I wanted to apologize. You know, about your husband not caring and whatnot."

"You were right. I just wasn't ready to hear that. It's a very sensitive thing for me."

"You still haven't put him out?" Rio asked, smirking.

Her lips, painted in dark lipstick, parted and a light chuckle escaped.

"You probably wouldn't know this, but marriage is hard work. It's not all sunshine all the time." she explained, answering but not answering his question.

"I ain't sayin' everything always gotta be sunshine, but it damn sure ain't supposed to be hell."

"You seem to really enjoy talking about my marriage like you know anything about it."

He could tell she was getting defensive again so he nipped it in the bud.

"I'm not judgin' you for stayin'. I just think you deserve better than somebody who don't realize what he got at home."

"You don't me well enough to make assumptions like that."

"But I ain't blind." he retorted.

She opened her mouth but nothing came out so she just smiled.

"I gotta be honest with you about somethin'. I came here before me and my boys showed up in your kitchen. I did somethin' I shouldn't have."

"What?" she asked.

He could only imagine the scary possibilities running through her mind.

"I could see you gettin' dressed from outside. I ain't look away at first."

She didn't say anything; she just watched him until he got up and spoke again.

"I'm sorry. I'm gonna go."

"Wait." she said, stopping him. "Is that why you're making us work with Shaw instead?"

"You don't wanna know why I gotta do that."

"I do. Sit back down."

This time he took a seat on the side of the table in the chair next to hers.

"My girl realized I had another woman on my mind. Said I couldn't see you no more." he explained. "All I could think about was you and how I saw you that day. Kept havin' the same dream about you."

"What was your dream about?" she asked, squirming in her seat a little.

"Goin' down on you." he answered honestly.

She deeply exhaled before biting her lip.

"That's why I think your husband's crazy. Every little thing about you turns me on and I can't have you. He don't know what he got."

It must've been too much for her because before he could say anything else, she was out of her seat. She stood in front of him and brought her face down to his. Her eyes were locked on his, like she was waiting for him. He finally closed the gap by softly pressing his lips to hers. It was soft and calm and sweet. When she parted her lips, he took it as permission to go a little further; he placed both of his hands on the sides of her face, his fingers at the back of her neck and his thumbs stroking her cheeks. She eased her tongue into his now open mouth and before he knew it, it wasn't soft, calm, and sweet anymore. It was hot and passionate and the longer it went on, the more painful his dick physically begging for freedom was.

"I been wantin' you so bad ever since I saw you." he whispered, standing up, his lips still touching hers.

"I want you." she moaned in response as he pushed her against the table.

She lifted herself up until she was on the table and he scooted her back as he kissed his way down her jaw. Palming her breast with one hand while letting his other hand caress up her leg, he laid wet kisses across her creamy skin until he was stopped by the neckline of her dress. He was disappointed about the lack of cleavage, but he had better things in mind. He lifted her dress and spread her legs; he could tell by the heavy breath she let out that she was bursting to be pleasured. He pulled the crotch of her panties to the side.

"Damn. I thought I wouldn't get to see you like this outside of my dreams." he moaned, stroking her clit with his thumb.

He didn't think he could get more worked up than he was by just looking at the pink treasure between her thighs, but when he finally tasted her, he realized how wrong he was. Broad licks making her tremble, she brought her foot up and rested it on Rio's back, the heel of her nude pump digging into his tan skin. He sucked on her clit until her hips were humping erratically, then he released it and broadly licked from her wet entrance back up to her clit before quickly flicking it with an eager tongue. When he started sucking on it again, she quickly began approaching her climax.

"Oh! Ohh!" she loudly moaned, her hands flying to grab the back of his head. "I can't come. I can't...I can't do this to my husband." she barely got out.

He released her clit once more, but still had his lips pressed against her.

"You think your husband thought about you when he was fuckin' around?" he asked, his tongue darting out to finish her off.

"Stop! Stop it!" she half yelled, half moaned as she pushed his head away from her.

He stood straight up, licking her essence from his lips.

"This was a mistake. Get out."

Beth sat up and Rio just looked at her, but she wouldn't look up at him. He gently placed his hand under her chin and she quickly moved it.

"Go." she told him again, pulling her dress back down.

He rushed out of the door, mentally beating himself up over what happened. He wasn't sure what he was most upset about: revving the feelings he had for this housewife back up or saying something that he knew would make her angry. There was no way he could go back home to Natalia at the moment so he sent her a text to let her know that he would be at his parents' until the next day. Part of him thought about sitting outside and waiting for Beth to come out so he could apologize, but he figured he'd better give her some time. So he made his way to his parents' house, his encounter with Beth on his mind the entire time.


	3. Chapter 3

"Rio! Rio!"

 _What the fuck?_

"Rio!" Rita yelled, knocking on his bedroom door.

"Huh?" he answered, eyes squinted to block the sun shining through his window.

"Natalia is on the phone for you!"

"Tell her I'm sleep."

"Uh, I think she can hear us. I don't know how to quiet the phone."

"Oh my God." he sighed. "I'll call her in a second."

He figured he would get a good night's sleep away from Natalia, but he was wrong. He worried about what she'd do if she found out about what happened between him and Beth, he worried about how Beth was feeling after what they did. Then when he finally got all those thoughts out of his brain, he thought about how she tasted, how she felt in his mouth, the way she moaned and tried to keep herself from coming, how she tried to stop herself from basically humping his face but couldn't.

Then he got his, what felt like, 50th FaceTime call from Natalia and he finally accepted it.

"Where have you been?" she asked before he could get a word out.

"I told you I was staying at Mami and Pop's last night." he answered, holding the phone in front of his sleepy face.

"Well, you left yesterday morning and you're still gone. You don't think I should know why?"

"I had a lot of shit to take care of. Comin' home would've been outta my way."

"Were you with that woman who had you acting crazy?" she asked him.

"You told me not see her again so I haven't."

"Were you with someone else?"

"What is wrong with you? You see where I am. I stayed here all night." he explained.

"I'm so close to reaching my breaking point, Rio. And you don't want that." Natalia told him, hanging up immediately.

Rio sat and thought about if that's what he really did want or not. At this point, he didn't have the slightest idea about what he really wanted when it came to his relationship with Natalia, but one thing he did know for sure was that the housewife was weighing heavy on his mind. And if he could beat her out of there, he'd run his head through a hundred walls, but that just wasn't going to work.

A quick knock on his bedroom door pulled him out of his thoughts. He got up and opened it and was greeted with his mother's smile.

"I have breakfast ready for you, mijo." she said.

He threw on a navy blue graphic tee that harshly clashed with his green and red plaid pajama pants, then followed Rita to the kitchen. He sat down in front of his full plate and mostly just pushed his food around while Rita sat next to him, reading a book. She bit her tongue for about twenty minutes, then she just couldn't take it anymore.

"I want you to know that I take this as an insult." she said without even looking up from her book.

"It's not the food, Mami."

"Then what is it? Is something going on with Natalia?" she asked.

"Not really."

Rita closed her book and sat it on the table in front of her.

"You're lying." she deadpanned.

"What?"

"I am your mother. I know when something is bothering you and I usually know what it is." she explained. "You let her answer your phone at dinner the other night."

"She's insecure. You know that."

"You know that I love Natalia like she was my own daughter, but I have watched you two get worse and worse. So unhealthy."

"She ain't wrong this time, Ma." Rio said, finally putting his unused fork down.

"Rio, you wouldn't do that to her. You're not that kind of man."

"I don't know what kinda man I am no more. This woman got me outta my head, crazy."

He wouldn't look at Rita while he was telling her this because he could already picture the disappointed look on her face. She was right, she didn't raise him to be the kind of man he was now. She told him that all the time. But she loved him no less and deep down, he knew nothing would change that. Didn't make disappointing her any easier though.

"Who is she?" Rita asked, lightly tapping her petite hand on the table, signaling Rio to look at her.

And he did.

"I don't know. We crossed paths and she's been on my mind ever since."

"Rio."

"I know, Mami. If I could get her outta my mind, I would."

"I don't think you want to." Rita said bluntly. "But you can't keep tugging Natalia back and forth. All she's ever done was love you, even more than herself."

"I know." Rio said again.

"You keep saying that, but it doesn't mean anything without actions."

At the risk of repeating himself once more, he just sat quietly and looked at his still full plate for a few more minutes.

"I gotta get ready to meet Shaw at Cloud 9. You need anything?" Rio asked.

"I thought you'd never ask." she said, getting a laugh out of her sulking son. "Let me grab my list."

Rio got into the SUV Shaw was driving once he pulled into the Cloud 9 parking lot.

"I thought you wanted me to handle this." Shaw said.

"Yeah, man. I just...wanted to make sure everything was goin' okay."

"Smooth as fuck. And I got a feelin' them washin' the cash at places like this is gon' work."

"What made her even bring this to you? Y'all cool?" Rio asked, nonchalantly, scrolling through his phone.

"The ladies are nice, man."

"I ain't lettin' you handle this so you can be friendly with a few suburban bitches, Shaw. I gave it to you 'cause I thought you was capable of keepin' 'em on their toes, not so that housewife can run ideas to you. And whatever else y'all doin' together." Rio said, looking over at Shaw now.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You tell me."

Before Shaw could say anything else, they both saw Beth, Ruby, and Annie walking into the store. Rio didn't feel it was important to mention to his mother that the housewife he couldn't stop thinking about would also be at this meeting. As he sat next to Shaw on one side of the table while Beth, Ruby, and Annie sat on the opposite side, he couldn't take his eyes off of Beth's mouth while she was pitching an idea about how to wash the fake cash. All he could think about was how her soft lips had felt on his and how eager she was for him to caress her tongue with his own.

Yeah, their plan was good, but he'd much rather think about how painfully pleasurable it felt when she dug her heel into his back as he went down on her. He spotted a face he really hoped he was imagining from across the store, but not before she spotted him and began making her way to the table. Natalia's face getting closer and closer pulled him right out of the mental flashback he was enjoying so very much.

"Well." Natalia said as she approached the table, everyone's eyes on her.

"What are you doin'?" Rio asked her.

"Rita told me you were here."

"Now you see me. Now you can go."

"Who are your friends?" she asked, no longer looking at Rio. Her eyes were burning holes into Beth, Ruby, and Annie.

"Nat, we got business to handle." Shaw interjected.

"You and her are already on my shit list so calm down." she said, pointing at Beth.

"Me?" Beth asked.

"I remember you from the other night at the warehouse. Disrespecting Rio like he isn't the reason I'm sure everyone at this table is getting paid."

"Beth, maybe we should go." Annie suggested.

Rio looked at Natalia and hoped to God that she hadn't done a little digging of her own. But by the way her eyes turned to him and she cocked her head to the side, he knew she had.

" _You're_ Beth?" she asked, her sight now back on the woman she was talking to.

Beth didn't answer.

" _You're_ Beth." Natalia said, definitely not asking this time.

The tension at the table was thick because Rio, Shaw, and Natalia herself knew how fast she could fly off the handle. But her reaction shocked them. She just smiled, which was sometimes the calm before the storm, then put her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh. Then she just outright chuckled.

"If I had seen what you looked like before, I wouldn't have been so worried about Rio being around you." she said.

"Excuse you." Ruby said, taking full offense on behalf of her best friend.

"That's enough, Nat." Rio said, standing up from the table.

"I'm just so confused about what it is about her that has you so fucking obsessed."

"Let's go."

Rio put his hand on the small of Natalia's back and guided them away from the table.

"I told you to stay away from her!" she yelled once they reached her car in the parking lot. "Have you been lying to me this whole time?"

"No! I stayed away from her until now!"

"I'm trying really hard not to punch you in fucking face right now! This is bullshit!"

"I don't know what to tell you, Nat."

"Tell me you can get your shit together and cut her off!"

"I don't know if I can." he told her, being completely honest.

"Fine. Then cut me off."

"Wait, baby." he stopped her, grabbing her hand. "You know I love you."

"Not enough if you can't stop whatever it is you have with her."

"I don't have nothin' with her."

"You're lying to yourself and you're lying to me! All I asked is that you stay away from her and you couldn't even do that!"

Rio felt like his head was going to explode! He pulled Natalia closer to him by the hand he was still holding.

"You fucked her, didn't you?" she asked.

"I swear to you I didn't."

"I don't believe you! You can have her, I'm done."

She snatched her hand away from him and he hadn't realized how much that'd hurt him. All he could do was watch her get in the car and drive away and it was killing him. He had thrown this years long relationship with the girl he's known since he was a teenager away for a woman he didn't even know. And the fact that he had no say in it made it all the worse. Maybe his mom was right, maybe he didn't want Beth out of his head.

Maybe Natalia did the dirty work for him and it gave him one less thing to worry about, one less thing to feel guilty about. Then he realized that not only was Beth upset with him, she was married with four children. An apology might make up for mentioning her husband right before she came, but it definitely wouldn't make her husband go away. He didn't even know if he wanted her husband out of the picture. He didn't know what the hell he wanted!

"What was that about, man?" he heard coming from behind him.

He turned around and saw Shaw walking towards him.

"I wish I fuckin' knew."

"Bullshit. You just tried to accuse me of fuckin' around with her and that's why. 'Cause you're doin' it."

"You really actin' like Nat, just pullin' shit outta nowhere." Rio said, walking away from Shaw.

"Rio, we're not the crazy ones. You are for thinkin' nobody would find out, especially Nat."

Rio ignored him and just kept walking to his car. When he finally did look back, he saw Shaw going back into the store. He got in the car and just sat, contemplating whether or not he should go back in as well or go home and fix things with Natalia. He sat there longer than he anticipated and ended up deciding to go get some clothes from home, then stay at his parents' until Natalia calmed down.

He pulled into the driveway and shouldn't have been surprised when he saw a very angry Natalia with an armful of his clothes.

'What the fuck is wrong with you?" Rio yelled, stepping out of the car.

"You can get all of your shit and take it to that housewife bitch!" Natalia replied, throwing the clothes in her arms onto the front lawn. "You had her in my face at the warehouse and you didn't tell me!"

"'Cause it's not a big deal!"

"You fucked her and I'm done putting up with this!"

"I promise I ain't fuck her!" Rio defended himself as he followed Natalia into the house. "Will you stop for a second?"

"What did you do then? I know you like the back of my hand, Rio, and I know something happened. And I wish you would stop lying to me."

He could see the hurt on her face and couldn't bare to tell her what happened with Beth.

"You got every right to be pissed, Nat. So I'll leave for the night if you don't want me here and we can figure this out. I got love for you, you know that."

"Yeah, but I don't think you love me. So just go." she said before walking away from him.

He picked his clothes up off of the lawn as neighbors watched. Every day had been nothing but trouble since the moment he laid eyes on the other woman. So why was he driving through her neighborhood to see if she had made it home? He didn't know. But she had. He stopped in front of her house and told himself that this would only make this crazy day even crazier, but it was like he couldn't stop himself.

She opened the door after a couple of rounds of knocking.

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to say sorry." he answered in a quiet voice.

"Oh yeah? Again?"

He deserved that.

"For bringin' up your husband and for what my girl did today."

"Honestly, fuck them both right now." she spat.

He was taken aback because for some reason, he didn't expect her to talk like that.

"Your husband do somethin' wrong?" he asked, treading lightly.

"He brought her here. I found her underwear in the guest room. I asked him about it and it was recent, he was honest about that while I was kicking him out." she explained while she fidgeted with the wedding ring on her left hand. "So what your girlfriend did today is the least of my worries."

"Can I come in?" he asked before his brain stopped his mouth.

"Why?"

"I wanna make you feel better."

She didn't say anything, she just looked at him for a few seconds. She moved aside so he could step in, then closed the door behind him.

...


	4. Chapter 4

...

"Is it too early to start drinking?" Beth asked Rio.

"A shot or two wouldn't hurt after a day like today."

He followed her to the kitchen, sat and watched as she poured them both a drink. She stood on the other side of the island, straight across from him.

"Hm."

He looked up and saw her slightly shaking her head.

"What you thinkin' about?" he asked her.

"Just how crazy everything has gotten. I don't...I don't understand any of this." Beth admitted. "I'm lost in it all."

"I ain't made things any easier for you so I'm sorry."

"Did you tell your girlfriend about..." she started, nearly blushing thinking about their encounter on her dining room table.

"About?" he replied with his own question, knowing smirk on his face.

"Well, if you don't remember, neither do I." she laughed.

"Oh, I remember. Can't get it outta my head actually."

She hid the smile on her face by sipping from her glass.

"I fucked that up, huh?"

"It was just a combination of me being in my own head, feeling guilty, and what you said. I really did feel bad about doing that to Dean, but you were right. He didn't care enough about me to not cheat so."

"I ain't tell Nat about it, but she figured somethin' happened between us. I felt guilty too. But ever since I first saw you, I couldn't stop thinkin' about you, and I don't feel bad about that."

"I could tell how hurt she was today."

"I know, but I always been faithful to her, I always take care of her, I always put what I feel aside and stay with her."

"Sounds like me when it comes to Dean."

"You gotta stop worryin' about a grown ass man that ain't been treatin' you the way you deserve. Your husband's a dick."

"And your girlfriend's a bitch." Beth quickly snapped back, unintentionally making Rio laugh.

"We ain't together no more. She told me to get my shit and leave."

"Being with her is what you want?"

"I known her for so long. She been with me through a lot of shit."

"So you want to be with her?" she asked again.

"She loves me and I got love for her."

"Rio," Beth started, making her way to Rio's side of the island, "do you want to be with her?"

He didn't answer her right away. His eyes roamed up her body until they met hers, which were staring right at him.

"No." he finally answered, shaking his head. "I don't want her."

"Are you sure? Because I want you, but I don't want your situation to get more complicated. And I won't do this if you want her."

"Do what?" Rio asked, putting his glass down and reaching out for Beth.

She walked towards him until his hand was resting comfortably on her hip, then answered his question with a kiss. After constantly thinking about the feel of her mouth on his, he was more than glad to be able to actually feel it again. He stood up from his seat and pressed his body against hers as his tongue caressed hers and his mouth swallowed her moans.

Rio felt Beth's hands start to fumble with his belt and he happily let her undo it along with his jeans. Just as he was about to remove them, she parted her lips from his.

"Not here. I want you in our bed." she told him.

He understood that when she said "our", she meant the bed she had shared with Dean. But for a split second, he didn't take it that way.

"I'm not doing this _just_ to hurt him, but I do want to hurt him." Beth explained.

"I get it. He got condoms here?" he asked.

She practically dragged him to her bedroom and her excitement made him all the more excited. If he couldn't get kissing her and going down on her out of his head, he could only imagine what sex with her would do to him.

The way she slowed down let him know that she was being honest with him about not doing this for revenge alone. She let her nails drag across the skin of his sides as she pulled his shirt up and off. Her eyes roamed over his finely chiseled body, then up to his face. She could tell he took pleasure in watching her check him out. She laid a hand on his chest and lightly pushed, sitting him down on her bed.

She straddled him as he laid back; his hands gripping her hips as she leaned down to kiss him. She felt him moving around, then realized he was kicking his shoes off. They hit the floor with a thud and somehow the sound brought him to a reality that he didn't realize he was gone from. This felt like a dream to him, probably because it had been something he dreamed of numerous times.

His hands slid up and down the soft black knit dress she was wearing. Then he gripped her thighs before sliding his hands underneath her dress until he reached her panties. He palmed her ass with both of his hands as she started grinding against him.

"Undress for me." he whispered, his lips still against hers.

She looked him in his eyes with a nervous look on her face.

"You fuckin' beautiful." he reassured her.

"What your girlfriend said earlier..." she started.

"She just jealous. Pissed about me thinkin' of fuckin' you while I was with her. Only thing she was right about is how obsessed I am with you. Have been since the first time I saw you."

She started unbuttoning her dress and his eyes followed her hands. Once she got the first few buttons undone, he could see the tops of her ample breasts perfectly peeking out of her bra. When she got about halfway, her chest and stomach now fully exposed, she looked at him for reassurance. She got it when she saw the way he was eyeing her body with his bottom lip squeezed between his teeth. With the rest of the buttons now undone, she slipped out of her dress and let it fall to the floor.

"Fuck. You more than beautiful, mama." he sighed.

She could feel his hardness pressing between her legs and she couldn't take it anymore. She got off of the bed and quickly removed Rio's jeans and briefs. He was standing at attention just for her and she smirked at him.

"This how you had me that day I saw you gettin' dressed." he told her. "And that day I tried to make you come on my face."

Beth let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. If seeing his dick erect and ready for her hadn't done the job, his voice and the things he said would definitely get her wet. She pulled her panties down and stepped out of them before straddling Rio once more. Before she could do anything, he flipped them both over, leaving her laying on her back with her legs wrapped around him; his hard dick pressed against her.

He reached between them and, with two fingers, began stroking her clit. He dipped his fingers slightly into her entrance, gathering her wetness, and using it to circle her clit with ease. Her breathing got heavier and she got wetter.

"Where his condoms?" he asked.

She pointed to the nightstand on the left side of the bed and Rio moved over to grab one. She scooted closer to the head of the bed and watched as he took a condom from the box. A look of anticipation plastered on her face, she watched him remove the protection from the wrapper, throwing the wrapper to the floor. He placed the condom on the head of his penis, pinching the tip before rolling it down to the base.

He looked up at Beth and chuckled at how hard she was staring at his dick and how labored her breathing was. That made her realize her mouth was hanging open; she quickly closed it and smiled at him.

She spread her legs and it was his turn to stare.

"Promise me something. You gon' come on my face? I still gotta have that and I won't fuck up this time."

She excitedly nodded her head as he moved up the bed towards her, positioning himself between her legs. He slowly pushed himself into her, sinking into her fully, and stilling. Beth hooked her arms underneath his, hands pressed against his back, moaning as Rio started to thrust in and out.

Rio lifted his upper body up to get a good view of her, his hips slowly gaining speed. His eyes focused on the way her breasts were spilling from her bra and it made him even hungrier for her. He leaned down and nipped at the supple, creamy skin of her breasts. He alternated between light bites and and kisses; the bites leaving small red marks on her pale skin.

One of her hands moved up to grip the back of his neck, pressing him even more into her ample cleavage, and he enjoyed every second of it.

His strokes were so deep and satisfying, it made any sex she had before seem obsolete.

He sped up his actions, making her scream out.

"Oh, Rio!" she moaned, her hips now moving in time with his.

He brought his face up from her breasts and began watching her pleasure make itself known all across her face.

"Look at me." he commanded her.

It wasn't an easy feat, but she opened her eyes that were squeezed shut in pleasure.

"You feel so fuckin' good." he told her while making direct eye contact with her.

She could only respond with a whimpering moan.

"Can't tell you how many times I came just thinkin' about this, thinkin' about you." he said, his fingers now playing with her clit. "That night in the warehouse, I imagined fuckin' you on a pile of money, with everybody watchin'."

"Oh my God." she breathed, starting to contract around his member.

"Gon' come for me?" he asked, speeding up his actions, both his thrusts and his fingers.

She nodded her head, thrusting along with him, and after a few more swipes on her clit, she came. She was a screamer and he hadn't expected that.

Mid-orgasm, he kissed her. Their previous kisses had been passionate, but the way he kissed her while he was inside of her as she climaxed was on a whole new level of passionate.

"Fuucckkk." she moaned, coming down from her high while he slowly continued to pump in and out of her.

When her breathing calmed, he pulled out of her and placed a hand on her hip.

"Turn over." he instructed.

She did as she was told and turned to lay on her stomach, her legs only slightly spread apart. A shiver ran down her spine when she felt Rio's full, wet lips kissing the backs of her thighs. He lifted his hand and brought it down on her ass with a smack.

A shaky breath left her mouth followed by a low moan.

"You like that?" he asked her, his lips now kissing the red mark he had just made.

"Mm-hm." she answered, nodding her head.

"You ready for some more of this?" he asked, leaving wet kisses up her back.

"Fuck yes."

He smiled, thinking he'd never get used to her talking like that. He positioned himself behind her, most of his weight being held by his arm resting on the bed. He moved her left leg so that it was slightly bent while her other leg stayed straight. With his right leg on the outside of hers and his left between both of hers, Rio slowly penetrated her.

It seemed like her moaning increased in volume with each inch that entered her. Once he was fully inside of her, he pulled back out almost completely before thrusting hard into her.

"Mmm, Rio." she moaned.

"Give me a kiss." he told her.

She turned her head as best she could and he met her, taking her bottom lip into his mouth and sucking. It quickly turned into another passionate kiss and they didn't stop until they had to in order to catch their breath.

One of Beth's hands was gripping the bed cover while the other was stretched out in front of her. Rio reached his hand out as well until it found hers; he locked his fingers between hers while his other hand was squeezing her ass.

"Ah shit." he groaned, his hips starting to move erratically.

He felt her gripping him tighter and knew her climax was approaching so he tried to fight his off for a little longer. He gave her another light smack on her ass and she was done for. Although her own orgasm had taken her over, she wanted him to feel the bliss as well.

"Don't...don't stop." she moaned, the pleasure erupting from her center making it hard for her to focus let alone talk.

"Oh fuck." he grunted as he came. "Fuck!"

He couldn't hold himself up any longer, but Beth didn't mind the feel of his sweaty body pressed against her back for a few seconds. They both stayed still until they recovered and separated.

"Was it as good as your dreams?" she asked him, her lips rubbing against the stubble on his face.

"Better than my dreams, I swear. I learned a lot about you."

"I bet you did." she replied, smiling.

They didn't stop there. When Beth went to the bathroom to freshen up, she called Ruby and arranged for her to keep the kids for a while.

Night had come quicker than Rio realized. He didn't remember falling asleep, but he looked over at a sleeping Beth and figured that they had probably worn each other out. He reached over the side of the bed, digging his phone out of his jean's pocket before letting his jeans fall back to the floor.

 _Mami_

 _Missed Call (9)_

 _Natty_

 _Missed Call (23)_

 _Shaw_

 _Missed Call (6)_

He immediately jumped out of the bed, hurriedly putting his underwear back on, and rushed out of the bedroom. Rita answered his call by the time he reached the kitchen.

"Ma, is somethin' wrong?"

"Where are you?" Rita asked.

"What's goin' on?"

"Natalia came by. She said she hadn't seen you so I was worried."

He let out a deep breath.

"I'm fine, Mami." he told her. "She still there?"

"No, she's gone looking for you. Let her know you're okay, she's worried."

"I bet she is. Ma, if she comes back over, just tell her to leave."

"Are you two okay?"

"She put me out earlier today."

"Oh, mijo. Where are you?"

"I'm good, I'm...I'm at a friend's." he answered.

"Let Natalia know you're safe, Rio."

"Okay, Mami. Love you."

"Love you, Rio."

Once they hung up, he quietly walked back to Beth's bedroom and eased himself under the covers. The moving must've woke her though because she turned over to face him, a grin on her sleepy face. He moved closer to her and realized she was still naked, then she realized he wasn't.

"Hey, who told you to put that away?" she asked, her fingers playing with the waistband of his briefs.

He put his hand on her hip and gave it a light squeeze.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Not a damn thing." he answered, kissing her. "I should go though."

"Okay. I appreciate you coming by and making me feel better."

"Anytime." he said, smiling.

He hated to leave her, but he knew staying overnight was a no go. Thinking about the way she drained him was almost enough to make him turn his truck around and go back for more. Then he saw Natalia's name flash across the screen in his truck. He finally answered.

"What do you want?"

"You couldn't fucking wait, could you?" she asked.

"What are you talkin' about now?"

"I know you're with her. I know you're at her house."

"I'm not at anybody's house."

"I drove by there earlier, Rio. You're a fucking liar."

"And you're fuckin' crazy! Did you not just break up with me? I can do whatever I want."

"She has a husband and I'm sure he'd love to hear about you." Natalia threatened.

"She kicked him out 'cause he cheated so he ain't got no say."

"She has kids, right? They know about mommy's new fuck buddy?"

"Natalia." Rio said.

"I just think we should talk, Rio. Please." she begged.

"I don't know, Nat. We both need some time to think and I ain't really feelin' a conversation with you right now."

"Will you call me tomorrow?" she asked.

"We'll see." he answered, then hung up.

He went to his parents' house, showered, ate dinner, and all with a huge smile on his face. The next morning, he was woken up by that all too familiar knock on his bedroom door because in his mother's house, there was no such thing as sleeping in late.

"I'm up, Ma." he called out.

"Shaw is here to see you."

"Be out in a second."

He threw on some clothes and left his bedroom. He walked straight past Shaw, who was sitting in the living room, and walked outside. Shaw knew that meant he wanted him to follow. So he did.

"Shaw, man. What I accused you of wasn't cool. That's my bad." he said, his way of apologizing.

"It's cool, man." Shaw replied, dapping Rio up. "We got bigger stuff to worry about."

"What's up?"

"Marty's tryin' to shut down the operation at the store, said detectives been questioning him."

"Punk ass bitch." Rio said, shaking his head. "Any of the fellas pay him a visit yet?"

"Nah, waiting on your word. I called you last night."

"I was uh, I was busy."

He tucked his lips in to keep from smiling, but Shaw knew something was up.

"What the hell is goin' on with you, Rio?" he asked, laughing.

"Nothin'."

"I know it ain't that housewife that got you sprung like this. What kind of fuckin' goin' on?"

"Man, we ain't fuck. Until last night."

"Bruh! What the hell are you thinkin'?"

"I don't even know." he answered, still grinning shamelessly.

"Damn, was it that good?" Shaw asked, smirking.

"The best, man. But that's all I can say. 'Cause she a lady in the streets."

They both laughed.

"For real though, Shaw, get Marty to me. Soon."

"Alright, I got it."


	5. Chapter 5

Having a man scared shitless right in front of him was just the adrenaline rush Rio needed. He had missed this. His life lately had been nothing but drama and, between Beth and Natalia, confusion. So it took all he had in him not to rearrange Martin's face just because he could.

"Marty, what's this about you wantin' to take the store out of my business?" Rio asked.

"Rio, the FBI is sniffing around. They know what's going on." he answered.

"They don't know shit. Unless you told 'em somethin'."

"I swear I didn't tell them anything. Just said it must be some kind of misunderstanding."

"If your store is out of commission, that fucks with my money. And you don't wanna fuck with my money." Rio threatened, stepping closer to Martin.

"Rio, I have a family."

Those words rung familiar in his mind. Made him think of Beth, then that lead to him thinking about fucking Beth, then that lead to him thinking about how eager she was to be spanked. He thought a lot about how different she was in the bedroom than she was in public. But that had to be the last thing on his mind right now, so he'll think about that later at a more appropriate time.

"So do I." he said, shaking his head a little like that'd help him focus. "And what I do feeds 'em and take care of 'em."

"I'm not sacrificing my business or my family just for you to..." he started but was stopped abruptly due to the swift punch in the gut Rio served him.

"What was that?" Rio asked, tauntingly.

Martin was doubled over, trying to catch his breath.

"What did you say?" Rio asked again.

"Rio, please." Martin choked out, still leaned over in pain.

Rio snatched him up straight by the collar of his shirt and kept it in a mean grip.

"What?"

"I don't want my family in this and I don't want my business in this. Not with the FB-fucking-I on to you!"

"You shoulda thought about that. You made the decision and ain't no gettin' out."

"What if I find someone else to take my place?" Martin asked.

"What do you think this is? You bring other people into my business and I'll take care of you way worse than what the FBI or anybody else ever could."

Martin was sobbing at this point, still being choked by Rio's grip on his collar.

"We done here, yeah? Take care of him." Rio instructed his boys, letting go of Martin and walking away.

Once he got into his truck and sped off, he wished he would have gotten a few more punches in because what he was about to do was bound to make him lose his temper. After ignoring what felt like a million calls from Natalia and listening to at least 15 voicemails from her, he texted her to see what she had to say.

 _Rio: What?_

 _Natty We need to talk._

 _..._

 _Natty:I was acting crazy._

 _..._

 _Natty: Babe, I just want us to talk it out. We don't have to get back together but we can't stay like this._

 _Rio:Alright. Be over later._

 _Natty:Thank you._

He had his mind made up already. He knew that whether they talked it out or not, they were done. And he knew that was for the best. So when she opened the door, puppy dog eyes in full effect, he just walked right past her and sat down on the couch. She sat on the opposite side of the same couch.

"What am I here for?" he asked her.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted. Just come back home." she said, tearfully although he wouldn't even look at her.

"You told me to go, Nat."

"I've said that a thousand times. The only difference this time was _her_."

Rio shook his head. He could hear the hurt in her voice.

"Can you blame me for telling you to leave? You told me you'd never cheat on me and I believed you."

"I didn't fuck her while I was with you."

"Rio, you were with me until yesterday. You left me and went straight to be with her."

He only sighed.

"You put me through a lot of shit, Rio. You had something with her, no matter how much you lie to me or yourself. You had her in my face and didn't tell me. You thought about her while you fucked me. And I'll put that behind us if you come back."

"Why you want this so bad when we both know it was shit?" Rio asked, finally looking at her, her eyes welling up with tears.

"It wasn't always. We loved each other and I still love you. We were good and I think we can get back to that."

Again, he didn't say anything. He just looked at the tears falling down her face before she quickly wiped them away.

"You think she'd have your back? She probably only sees you as a good fuck that she would turn on the first second something goes down."

It was no longer hurt evident in her voice or on her face, it was anger.

"It's not fair if she gets to have you. You're from two different worlds. You think she would ever be with you, ever be okay with telling the other PTA moms who you are? You're just new and exciting to her. And when things get real, you'll be nothing to her. I'm only telling you that because I love you and I have your back."

Rio nodded his head. He hadn't thought of any of that until Nat said it. He had shown up with his mind decided on not getting back with her, but after what she said how could he not consider it?

"I hear you, Nat." he said, moving to her end of the couch.

"I don't care if you work with her, I don't even care if you love her. If you can get over her, I can move past this. We can be us again, the old us. Down for each other no matter what. Remember graduation night? You were hellbent on not showing up because you were too hard for a cap and gown?"

Rio let out a small laugh, thinking back.

"Mrs. Rita was so close to dragging you across the stage herself." Natalia said, laughing. "But all it took was a little drive around the block with me and we got you across that stage. That's us. We're loyal and we need each other. We won't find that with anybody else."

She reached out to grab his hand and he let her.

Before this conversation, he knew for sure what he wanted and it wasn't Natalia. Now, he wasn't so sure.

He didn't contact Beth for the next few days, but he did text her the day of a scheduled drop to let her know the time and location. Beth was confused when she only saw one of Rio's boys in the truck. Until Rio hopped out of the backseat with a black duffel bag and walked up to her as she was standing next to her van.

"What'd I do to have you run off and disappear? Was it that bad?" she asked, jokingly.

"Hell nah." Rio smirked.

"When Dean came back to get the rest of his things, I gave him the condoms...with a few missing."

"You cold, mama." Rio replied, laughing.

"Here ya go." Beth said, handing him her bag of washed cash.

"Your cut is wrapped up in there." he said, handing her his bag of fake cash.

"Okay. Seriously though, about the other night..." she started.

"Best I ever had, I promise."

She smiled.

"You should come back over tonight. The kids are with Dean's mom." she propositioned.

 _Her boldness is creeping out of the bedroom_ , he thought.

"I uh, I shouldn't." he replied and it was like somebody was clawing at his heart.

"Oh." Beth let out quickly, taken aback.

Just then, the backdoor of the black SUV that Rio had emerged from opened up. It was Natalia who stepped out this time. Both Rio and Beth looked at her, but Beth immediately turned her sights back onto Rio.

"Babe, we have to go. Your parents are waiting." Natalia said before getting back into the SUV but leaving the door open for Rio.

"Beth, we talked and she said some things." Rio started to explain, turning back to Beth.

"No, you don't owe me anything. All I wanted was to get back at Dean and I did that." she said, tears in her eyes, secretly hoping he didn't notice that.

"Damn. Okay." he said quietly before returning to the SUV and slamming the door shut.

"Something wrong?" Natalia asked.

"Nah. I'm good." he answered, facing the window and trying not to let his emotions get the best of him.

He didn't know whether she meant that or not, but she said it and that's all that mattered. So maybe Natalia was right, maybe he was nothing to her. But as much as what she said hurt him, he couldn't bring himself to even pretend she was nothing to him.

Lunch with Rio's parents was a little awkward. All of them were aware of the shit that had gone down recently.

"Are you excited about your birthday party next week?" Natalia asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"I am. I have my dress picked out and it is amazing." Rita answered.

"I still don't understand how we went from this bein' a surprise party to you plannin' everything." Rio said, laughing.

"You should know by now that nothing can be kept from her." Tomas joked.

"Nothing." Rita reiterated.

Then it got silent again.

"Would you like to see my dress, Natalia?" Rita asked, standing up.

"Of course."

"Excuse us."

Nat followed Rita out of the kitchen and straight down the hall into her bedroom. She sat in Rita's vanity chair while Rita grabbed her party dress out of the closet.

"Oh, that's gorgeous." she complimented as Rita revealed the dress in the garment bag.

"You and Rio talked things out?"

Natalia had learned early on that Rita never beat around the bush.

"We did." Natalia answered, nodding her head.

"What's going on?" Rita asked, laying her dress on the bed and sitting next to it.

"We're fine. I think we just feel like we've outgrown each other sometimes."

"That happens, that's okay."

"But we haven't. We know that now." Natalia defended.

"Sometimes we have to let things go even if we're not ready."

"That's not us." she snapped, then withdrew when she realized how evident her attitude was. "I'm sorry."

"I just don't want you two to hate each other in the end."

"Have you met her? That other woman?" Nat asked, not even waiting for an answer because she knew Rio wasn't that stupid. "She's married, you know? With four kids. And that makes me wonder why he was so willing to throw our relationship away instead of having that with me. Getting married, having kids."

"Men don't know what they want." Rita joked, but Natalia didn't laugh.

"I think he wanted her. And maybe us getting back together is a mistake, but she doesn't get to have him. I have been through a lot of stuff with Rio and me just giving him to her won't happen."

Rita just looked at Natalia while Natalia only looked at the floor. It was like she was thinking out loud, not aware of Rita's presence.

"She thought I would let her have everything I don't _and_ everything that I do?" Nat continued, shaking her head.

"Natalia, you can't base your decisions on being spiteful to others. It's not okay. And never beg a man to stay."

Meanwhile, still sitting at the kitchen table, Rio and Tomas continued eating their lunch.

"Your mami told me you're seeing another woman."

"It's not like that. Nothin' happened 'til we broke up." Rio cleared up.

"You love the other woman?"

"Pops."

Tomas looked at him and he couldn't lie.

"I don't know. I feel like it sometimes." he finally answered. "I must be to put myself through all this crap. Either that or a damn fool."

"Probably both." Tomas laughed.

"Tell me what to do."

"You know I can't do that. But I will tell you that dragging people along is the worst thing you can do. That and not being honest with yourself. It causes too many people to hurt."

"I don't know what to do, Pops. I don't know what I want."

"I think you do. Rio, you're tough, always have been. I don't understand why you want something to come easily all of a sudden."

"What I want don't make sense." Rio said, running his hand down his face.

"I thought you didn't know what you wanted." Tomas replied, smirking just the way Rio does sometimes.

His dad often said a lot of things that weighed heavy on his mind, but that particular conversation was ten times heavier. They had spent a couple of hours talking while Rita and Natalia talked about God knows what. His mind was racing the whole drive home, Natalia's hand in his. It continued to race while he was in the shower, Natalia in the bathroom with him, getting ready for bed. It didn't even stop racing once they got into bed, Natalia's head resting on his bare chest.

She ran her hand down the arm that wasn't wrapped around her and intertwined her fingers with his.

"I love you." she whispered, lifting her head and kissing his chest.

Natalia moved to straddle Rio, passionately kissing him until he stopped her.

"I ain't got condoms." he said.

"It's fine."

"Nah. We gotta be careful."

She exhaled and got off of Rio. Sitting on the bed, looking over at him, she shook her head.

"You can't keep making me think we're good and then doing this, Rio."

"It's not on purpose." he assured her.

"I just want us back to normal."

"Like nothin' happened and I can't do that. I don't wanna lie to you. I got her on my mind."

"What the fuck?"

"Just 'cause we didn't talk about what happened." Rio explained.

"So a talk with her and you're done?"

"I don't know. I think." he answered.

They sat silently for a minute.

"Fine. Do it." Nat finally said.

"Now?" Rio asked.

"Now, tomorrow, I don't care. Just get it done so we can move on with our lives."

For a second, he thought about going straight from his bed to Beth's house. Then he realized that it'd be too much temptation. But then again, it'd be too much temptation at any point.

He stepped out of bed and dressed himself, Nat's eyes not leaving him for a second. He kissed her before he left.

"I love you." she told him again.

"I'm comin' back home to you." _And that's all that matters_ , he thought.

When he got to Beth's house, all the lights were out. He knocked on the door anyway and stood there, waiting patiently. After a minute or two, the porch light came on and he heard her unlock the front door. It slowly opened and there she stood, hair in a low ponytail and a sleepy look on her face.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, smoothing down her white and blue candy stripe silk pajamas.

"We need to talk." Rio answered, stepping in without invitation.

...


	6. Chapter 6

...

"Your girlfriend's not about to pop out of your pocket, is she?" Beth asked, straightfaced, following Rio like this was his house and not hers.

They went into the den where he sat on the couch. Beth stood, looking at him.

"Listen." Rio started.

"I asked you."

"I know." he said, knowing what she was referring to.

"I asked you!" Beth loudly repeated.

"I know. And I swear to you I didn't plan on goin' back to her."

"But you did! After..."

She didn't have to finish her thought.

"Don't think that what we did wasn't special to me. Even if it was just revenge for you." he told her.

She hung her head before she looked back at him.

"It wasn't. But you deserved what I said. I trusted you, Rio. I let you in."

"You let me fuck. Let's be real, we can't be nothin'. You gon' take me to PTA with you, let me meet your family, your kids? No." he asked and answered, reminding himself of Nat in that moment.

"You never said that's what you wanted." Beth replied, her voice softened.

"And maybe I don't. Point is it can't happen."

"Why can't it?" she asked.

"We too different, from different worlds." Rio answered.

"This isn't you." Beth said, walking over and kneeling down next to Rio.

"What?"

"I haven't known you long, but this doesn't seem like you. To not do something just because it's hard. To let something get in your way."

"She said I was just a good fuck to you." Rio admitted.

"She doesn't know. I didn't have sex with you just to make Dean mad, Rio. I wanted it. I wanted you. But you want her."

His eyes darted back and forth from her eyes to her moving mouth.

"I'm not settling anymore. I'm too important, my children are too important. So go back to her if that's what you want."

"I don't want her. I want you." Rio said, leaning down towards Beth.

"But you're with her."

"I swear that's not where I wanna be." he told her, wrapping his arm around her and bringing his mouth to hers.

She backed away.

"But it's where you are."

"Please." he begged, tears in his eyes.

From the second he saw her, this is the effect she had on him. Made him do things not like himself, like coming very close to shedding a tear.

"My life isn't a game. I've had enough of letting men treat it like a plaything because of their needs. What do you want?"

"I want you." he answered, his forehead now resting against hers.

"You can't have us both. I mean that." Beth replied, voice trembling.

"I want you."

"Then don't make decisions for me. Don't assume what I will and won't do. And don't ever lie to me again."

"Okay."

Beth initiated the next kiss and it conveyed how much she had missed him since their night together. Before she knew it, Rio had pulled her up into his lap. Her hands held the sides of his face as she straddled him, their kiss making them breathless.

His hands ran down her back to her ass, appreciating the feel of the soft silk on her body.

"Fuck, I want you so bad." he groaned against her mouth.

Beth began unbuttoning her top as Rio slipped his hands into her pajama bottoms, moaning at the feel of her supple skin in his palms.

As soon as her breasts were free, Rio latched on and roughly sucked a pink nipple into his mouth, lightly biting down.

"Oh!" Beth moaned, letting out a shaky breath as Rio used his warm tongue to soothe the pain.

He could feel himself getting harder and harder. He pulled the waist of her pajama bottoms down until flesh was exposed and gave it a light smack.

Her hips began to grind into him.

"You like that, don't you?" he asked, his mouth now pressed into her other breast.

"Just with you." she answered.

Just the two articles of clothing she had on was getting to be too much so she slipped out of her top, then stood to remove her bottoms. Before she could do it herself, Rio reached out and slowly pulled her bottoms down, his hands caressing her skin as they went along.

His eyes stared between her legs as he licked his lips.

"Shit, I'm sorry I fucked up." he said, watching her step out of her bottoms.

"You have some making up to do then." she told him, bringing his face between her legs.

Rio lifted himself from the couch and maneuvered them until Beth was sitting, legs spread wide open for him. He softly kissed up the inside of her thigh until he reached his destination. He breathed in her scent, his dick straining against his sweatpants, before covering her with his wet mouth.

His tongue licked between her lips, pointedly and expertly pleasuring her clit, then dipped down to her entrance. The taste of her blew his mind; lapping her wetness into his mouth pushing him towards bursting any second.

He looked up at her and she looked down at him until she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. His mouth still working on her, he grabbed her hand and moved it her breast. She forced her eyes back open and made eye contact with him. The hunger is his eyes had her ready to explode.

Beth squeezed the breast Rio placed her hand on and he watched her with such intensity. Rolling her hard nipple between her fingers, it was getting to be too much. The sounds of her inhaling, exhaling, panting filled the air as did the sounds of Rio's muffled moaning.

"Fuck." she moaned. "Harder, Rio."

She pulled on her hardened nipple as Rio began to suck on her clit. He didn't stop until she was coming with both of her hands holding his head in place. When he came up for air, his mouth was covered in her essence. As soon as his face was near hers, she stuck her tongue out and ran it across his bottom lip before taking it into her mouth.

They left a trail of Rio's clothes on the way to Beth's bedroom, but they stopped just short of their destination. Neither of them knew how they got on the floor, but once they were there, they didn't complain.

Rio laid on his back as Beth straddled him, his hard cock being stroked gently by her soft hand. She bit her lip as she watched the pleasure on his face.

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about this, about how good you felt in me."

"You know how hard it was to not bust from eatin' you out? Stop talkin' before I embarrass myself." he joked.

She smirked in response, hand still stroking him.

"You know what I love more than you spanking me? I love coming on your face."

Rio groaned.

"I love tasting myself when I kiss you."

She took pleasure in watching him strain to not come.

"The day you told me about seeing me undressed in my bedroom, the day you had me on my dining room table, you pissed me off. But that night, I laid in my bed, thinking about your mouth."

She ran her thumb across his bottom lip before leaning down to kiss him.

"And ever since then, I've been making myself come with you in my head. It's the only thing that makes me come as hard as this." she said, pausing her strokes and just gripping his dick.

"Fuck, you killin' me."

"Don't come until I come." she told him, lifting her hips and letting herself down on his rock hard cock.

Rio groaned as she took him inside of her slick warmth. Her undulating hips rocking back and forth, up and down, her hands splayed across his muscled chest to hold herself up. He thrusted his hips upwards to meet hers and she almost lost it. No matter how in control she felt, she knew she was weak for him as was he for her.

They were both trying to outlast the other and the build up was getting unbearable.

Rio gripped Beth's curvy hips, fingertips digging into her soft, creamy skin.

"Shit, I gotta come." he panted.

"Not...until...I do." Beth moaned.

"Come here."

Beth leaned towards him, letting out a yelp when Rio grabbed one of her breasts and covered a nipple with his mouth, teeth lightly squeezing the pink pebble.

"Ohh!"

And just when he felt her starting to contract around him, he lifted his hand and came down on her ass much harder than he had done before.

"Oh my god! Oh, fuck!" she screamed as she came.

Rio's head fell back and his eyes squeezed shut as he released inside of her.

"Fuck." he grunted, letting out the breath he was holding little by little as he emptied himself.

She kissed his sweaty forehead before moving to lay beside him.

"Oh, you cheated."

"I was fuckin' dyin'." Rio said, laughing.

"I need to go uh, clean up." she panted, looking down and bringing attention to his load dripping out of her.

"Mm."

He brought his eyes back up to her and she could feel him watching her.

"It's okay. I'm on birth control." she told him.

"Nah, it's not that. I don't even trust her enough to fuck raw."

Beth took that as him trusting her. She kissed him before getting up and walking to the bathroom.

He slipped his briefs on and made himself comfortable on her bed. He wasn't so much confused about what he wanted anymore or what to do. He was more confused about how he was going to do what needed to be done. He didn't bother searching for his phone because he was sure Natalia had tried to call him. And shit, she knew where Beth lived so he could only hope she wouldn't do the unthinkable.

He found himself peering at the thinly veiled glass doors that he had first saw Beth through. The bathroom door opening being the only thing drawing his attention away. Beth emerged, wearing only a silk robe, and crawling up from the foot of the bed. She laid beside Rio, resting her head on his chest.

"She told me to come over and talk things out with you." Rio admitted.

"So she's expecting you back home?"

"I don't know what to do."

"Rio, I won't forgive you again. I love being with you, it makes me feel good in so many ways. But if you go back, I won't forgive you again." Beth explained.

"You ain't gotta worry about that. Look at me."

She did.

"But if you do what you did tonight again, I'm gon' spank you without fuckin' you."

"You held out though." she laughed.

"Yeah. Until I had to work hard to make you come so I could."

She laid her head back on his chest.

"Rio, you cheated on her with me. A few times now. But _you_ don't trust _her_?"

"That night I came here, I wasn't with her. I mean, she kicked me out. I thought we was done."

"Oh."

"I need you to know that. You gotta know I ain't lie to you to have sex."

"Okay." she said.

"When we have problems, she all of a sudden want a baby. That's the last thing we need. So I don't fuck her without protection."

They laid quietly and she felt his breathing start to even out like he was either asleep or falling asleep.

"Now what?" she asked, half hoping that he was asleep.

"I just know I'm done with her. I'll tell her in the mornin'."

"You wanna stay the night? You're probably tired." Beth suggested, her hand running over the bulge in his briefs.

"Wide awake now, but yeah." he replied.

The next morning, Rio kissed Beth goodbye and headed to his parents to shower. He pulled up and saw Natalia's car parked outside.

"Damn." he said under his breath before getting out and going inside.

She was sitting right there in the living room with his mother. He could tell she had been crying.

"Nat, I really am sorry."

"I tried to let you do whatever you wanted so you could see how much I loved you." she said, standing up, tears beginning to roll down her face.

"That ain't love. That's settlin'. I don't want that for you."

"For _me_ , Rio? Now you're thinking about me?"

"I'll just go to the back." Rita interjected quickly, standing from her seat.

"No, I'll just go. You're an asshole, Rio."

"I want you to be happy. That's not gon' be with me. We gotta let go of this idea of how we used to be and be done."

"And you cheating on me was the best way to do that?"

"I'm sorry, Nat, I swear. This wasn't supposed to happen. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you are. And you're a fucking idiot if you think-"

"Wait, Natalia. Okay, he messed up. But that is _my_ son in _my_ house. Now get _your_ ass out."

"Don't come get your things. I'll bring them." Natalia said to Rio before storming out.

"I feel so bad, Mami." Rio said, taking a seat where Natalia had been sitting when he walked in.

Rita sat next to him and looked at him with sad eyes.

"I know you didn't mean for it to happen this way, but it was already coming. I never said anything, but I saw that you were not happy with her anymore. What you had wasn't healthy."

"But I hurt her."

"You apologized. Listen to me, mijo. I don't tell you enough how proud I am of the man you are. It's no secret that I don't agree with everything you do, but I love you and I want you to be happy. Next time, do what makes you happy before it gets to the point of hurting someone. I don't want to lose my temper again."

"That was losing your temper?" Rio asked, laughing.

"I held back a lot. Trust me." Rita joked.

He could hear Beth's voice in his head, asking _What now?_ But he made an effort to not focus on that in the moment. Maybe the hard part wasn't over, but an important part was. He and Natalia were over for good and whether he and Beth got together or not, he was feeling something he had been denying himself for years. He was happy.


	7. Chapter 7

"Since when did I turn into a damn party planner?" Rio asked, not expecting an answer but of course Shaw had to make jokes.

Almost a week had passed since Rio ended things with Natalia and he hadn't heard a word from her. One would think it gave him relief, but it didn't. He half-expected her to show up at the most random times and maybe destroy something. She hadn't. Not yet at least. She hadn't even brought his clothes by, but Rio didn't complain because he really wanted nothing else to do with her. It was quite the contrast with Beth. He wanted _everything_ to do with Beth.

They still hadn't really talked about what was going to happen with them next, they just let things flow.

 _Beth: I'm rethinking what we talked about. Not sure that's a good idea._

 _Rio: It is._

 _Beth: I don't have anything to wear._

 _Rio: I'll give you the money to buy something._

 _Beth: Don't do that._

 _..._

 _Beth: Rio, I don't want your money. Don't do that._

 _Rio:Done._

"Can you get outta your phone for a second, Mr. Party Planner?" Shaw asked, shaking his head.

Rio obliged and stuck his phone in his pocket.

"Alright. What is it?"

"Pussy takes your head outta the game."

"Yo, chill with that. I'm here, ain't I?"

A minivan pulled into the driveway of the house they were parked across the street from. Out of the van stepped a slender brunette woman before the side door slid open and revealed two miniature versions of the woman and an older boy. The woman struggled to get groceries out of the back of the van while the kids grabbed her keys and ran into the house. After a few trips back and forth, the woman went into the house and stayed. Rio and Shaw gave it a few minutes before getting out and making their way to the front door of the house.

All it took was a couple of knocks and the door opened. It was the woman.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"We're hoping you can. We're in uh, business with your husband, but we haven't heard from him in a while." Rio answered.

"We hope everything's okay." Shaw added, turning his charm up a notch.

He and Rio had been charming their way through things and out of trouble since they were kids. They couldn't have been more than 10 years old when they escaped big trouble the first time. As children, they didn't make the smartest decisions about who to hang out with in their neighborhood. There was a group of boys a little older than them that decided to take Rio and Shaw into their crew.

It didn't take either of them long to figure out that crew was nothing but a whole lot of trouble. They picked fights and left Rio and Shaw, the youngest, to take the punches. They were okay with that though because they seldom did it around adults so they never got in trouble for it and it toughened them up fairly quickly. They were also the ones sent to corner stores and the neighborhood candy lady's house to utilize the "five finger discount".

They never got caught and they were aware that it was because they were so cute and charming, they looked harmless. But one day, they got tired of being the runts handling what they considered the dirty work back then. But oh, if young them met adult them, they would see things could get a lot dirtier.

 _Rio and Shaw rode their bikes down the street to the candy lady's house. They dropped their bikes in her front yard and knocked lightly on the door._

 _"Hey, Rio. Hey, Shawny Boy." she greeted them as she opened her front door._

 _"Got any hot pickles, Ms. C?"_

To this day, they never knew what her name was. Everyone in the neighborhood only called her Ms. C and they always figured the C stood for "Candy lady".

 _"For my favorite boys, I have anything. Go around back."_

 _She closed her front door and met the boys in her backyard. They followed her into the metal shed she unlocked and eyed the variety of candies, chips, cookies, and other treats._

 _While she talked with Rio and tried fishing a pickle out of the huge nearly empty jar, the sound of Shaw digging through the container of blow pop suckers ceased and she saw his hands go into his pockets._

 _"You better be looking for money in those pockets of yours." she warned, looking sternly at Shaw._

 _Both Rio and Shaw's eyes got as wide as saucers as they stammered, trying their best to vocalize an excuse that their brains just weren't coming up with._

 _As Shaw pulled the bubblegum filled lollipops from his pocket, Rio spoke up._

 _"They made us do it."_

 _"What? Who made you? Those boys who ride around this neighborhood just looking for someone to bother or something to mess up?" she asked._

 _"Yes ma'am." Rio answered._

 _"We didn't want to, Ms. C. But we knew we couldn't say no." Shaw added._

 _"You boys are better than that. You hear me?"_

 _"Yes ma'am." they answered in tandem, puppy dog eyes gleaming in Ms. C's direction._

 _"You two get what you want and go home. I'll handle those boys."_

 _They did as she said. They got to Rio's house and sat at the kitchen table to enjoy their pile of snacks. It wasn't long after that, that they spotted Ms. C walking towards the house across the street. The house where a pile of bicycles laid in the yard; the house where the crew was._

 _She beat on the front door until it opened, then they went and hid in Rio's room because the last thing they needed was to be spotted by one of their boys. But from the ass whooping they received the next day, they knew Ms. C had spilled the beans and they learned that day to never ever snitch again._

"Everything's fine. Come on in." the brunette woman replied.

They entered and followed the woman to the kitchen, where she invited them to sit and asked if they'd like anything to drink or snack on.

"I'm sorry. I'm Lisa, Martin's wife. I don't think I've met you two before."

"I don't believe so. We're mostly behind the scenes, making sure funds are good and whatnot." Rio said.

"Mommy! Mommy!" one of the mini versions screamed as she ran into the kitchen, her spitting image following quietly behind her.

"Hey, girls. We have company so let's use our inside voices." Lisa told them.

"Wait a second. You two look a lot alike. Did your parents clone one of you?"

From their reaction, someone would think Rio just told the most hilarious joke known to mankind.

"We're not clones." one laughed.

"We're twins." the other snorted.

"These are our girls, Olivia and Sophia. MJ is our boy. He's upstairs, annoyed with his family like most 14 year old boys."

"MJ's boring!" Sophia turned her face towards the staircase and yelled.

"We're not." Olivia added in a serious tone.

"Go get Mommy's phone out of her purse, please. I'll call Martin and let him know you two are here."

"No, no. No need. We just wanted to make sure nothing was wrong." Shaw quickly replied.

"That's so thoughtful of you. At least let me text him and see where he's at."

"If you insist." Rio said, relaxing into his seat.

Once she had her phone in hand, Lisa sent a quick text to Martin asking where he was. It didn't take him more than a minute to reply.

"Oh, he's with some of his buddies at the country club. You sure you don't want me to tell him to hurry home?" she asked.

"I'm sure we'll get up with him soon. Thank you though."

They got back into the truck and headed to the country club. They hadn't been there long before they saw Martin and a few other men exiting the building and walking towards the parking lot.

"Marty!" Rio stepped out and yelled, making the men turn in his direction.

Rio and Shaw walked over to them as Martin tried to tell his friends he'd catch up with them later.

"What...what are you doing here?" Martin asked.

"You're surprisingly a very hard man to track down, Marty."

"But we had a little help." Shaw added.

"Yeah, we paid a little visit to Lisa. She was nice enough to text you for us."

Martin's face dropped and any color it had left immediately.

"That MJ definitely looks like you, but those twins...Sophia and Olivia? Little versions of their mom, man."

"Rio." Martin choked out under his breath.

"Can we get a minute with Martin? It's business." Shawn asked of the gentlemen watching them suspiciously.

They slowly walked away until they were into their cars. Neither Shawn nor Rio looked long enough to see if they left because they didn't care. They had been patient enough not to do anything too damaging to Martin yet and a few more minutes wouldn't hurt.

"Where is my wife? Where are my kids?" Martin asked, voice shaking with fear just as much as his body was.

"You think we would hurt your kids? Marty, you don't know us at all."

"Rio, this is too fucking far."

"Too fuckin' far? You ain't seen too fuckin' far. You keep dodgin' my calls and I'll show you."

"Rio, leave my family out of this."

"I will if you just keep your mouth shut and do what you need to do. Go wait at the store, I got a drop on the way."

Martin's face looked like he had more to say, but Rio couldn't care less especially with his phone vibrating in his pocket and him knowing exactly who it was.

"We done. I got better shit to do." Rio said, walking away.

 _Beth: Why'd you send that?_

 _Rio: Buy something nice._

 _Beth: No. I don't want it._

 _Rio: Be there later._

It wasn't long before he found himself standing at her front door, knocking before the door opened and he saw her face.

"I'm sending that money back to you." Beth told him as he sauntered through the door and into her kitchen.

"Why? If you ain't got nothin' to wear, then go buy somethin'."

"I don't want your money."

"I know you don't, but I want you at my ma's party. No excuses." he whispered.

His face was so close to hers that it didn't take much more than a whisper for her to hear him very clearly. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pressed his body into hers. She tucked her bottom lip into her mouth while greedily eyeing his. She took a deep breath like inhaling his scent satisfied her more than anything.

"I have to go get the kids from school." she said.

"What's stoppin' you?" Rio asked, smirking.

"You. This." she answered, pressing her hips even further into his.

"I'm not doin' anything."

He lifted his hands up as if to show his innocence in this situation, but he moved them to kitchen island with his body.

"Just because you're not using your hands doesn't mean you're not doing anything."

He gripped the edge of the island, bringing his mouth to hers. She smiled into their kiss, then parted her lips, inviting his tongue into her mouth. He felt like he could get drunk off of her kisses and he happily swallowed her moans, having no problems with her intoxicating him.

He moved his hands from the island to her hips, then made his way up her body, caressing her breasts before resting his hands on the sides of her neck. He knew he should stop because he was getting hard and she didn't have time to get him off.

She laid her hands on top of his before pulling away from his mouth.

"You feel that?" he asked her, his erection pressing against her.

"I do. I have to go, but I owe you one, okay?"

"Hell yeah, you do." Rio replied.

After much convincing on Rio's part, Beth finally went to a few boutiques until she found a gorgeous black dress that fit her magnificently. Rio wasn't satisfied until she bought shoes and jewelry as well, but she made sure to send him what money was left. She could tell that he didn't like how stubborn she was being about keeping the money, but they got over it pretty quickly. The night finally came and she seemed as nervous as a middle school girl going to her first big dance.

"Is this too much?" Beth asked Rio as they walked up to the wooden gate leading to his parents' backyard.

"Those ain't never too much." he answered, eyes roaming from her ample cleavage to her glowing face.

He opened the gate and was happily greeted by a gang of aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends as he walked over to the table where Rita and Tomas were seated.

"Mami, Pops, this is Beth." Rio announced, a sense of pride evident in his voice.

"It's nice to meet you both. And happy birthday. I hope you don't mind Rio dragging me here." Beth said nervously.

"Of course not. And thank you." Rita replied.

"No one can beat this beautiful woman right here, but you look wonderful."

"Thank you." she said, smile on her face.

"Make yourself at home, eat, drink, have fun."

Within a couple of hours, Beth felt like she had met a million people and had a million names and faces to remember. She and Rio made a game of it: at random, he pointed someone out and Beth had to name them. If she got it right, he took a shot. If she got it wrong, she took a shot. They were about even when the alcohol started catching up with them so they had to stop.

Beth did just as Rita suggested. She ate, she drank, she had fun all night.

Nearing the end of the night, Rita and Tomas stood front and center on the dance floor that had made their backyard its temporary home. They were beaming, soft lights shining on them, giving the beautiful floral arrangements scattered around tough competition.

"She wants to thank you, but she's done enough talking and crying for tonight." Tomas spoke into the mic he was holding in his hand, his other hand holding Rita's.

Beth hadn't noticed how much Rio looked like his father until that moment. She glanced over at him before turning her attention back to his parents.

"I've known this woman since we were 18 years old. I knew then I would marry her, but she didn't decide to marry me until we were 20. I don't know why she couldn't make up her mind sooner."

The smiles and laughter of everyone in attendance was radiating pure awe.

"We have been married for...how many years, Rita?"

"I wouldn't dare say." she answered into the mic, making everyone laugh.

"The point is that when you know, you know. I took one look at her and knew. I heard her voice and knew. I saw her smile, I heard her laugh, I witnessed her determination and kindness and her love and I knew." Tomas continued.

Rio put his arm around Beth's waist and rested his hand on her hip.

"There isn't anything I wouldn't give up for her or go through for her. Which is why I'm wearing this suit in my own backyard. I love you, mi amor."

They shared a few quick kisses as everyone applauded.

Slow music faded in and they passed the mic along before embracing one another and swaying to the music. When the song ended, another began and guests began to occupy the dance floor.

"Come on." Rio whispered into Beth's ear, softly grabbing her hand and leading her onto the dance floor.

 _Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you_

 _Embrace me, you irreplaceable you_

He had to admit that nothing felt as good as having her in his arms and he was sure that she felt the same way.

 _Just one look at you, my heart grew tipsy in me_

 _You and you alone bring out the gyspy in me_

He could hear her singing along and she sounded beautiful. Rio soaked in the moment because only time would tell what would become of them. He understood that so much would work against them and he refused to be in denial about that.

Beth lifted her head and looked him in the eye.

"Thank you for tonight." she told him.

"Nah. I'm the one should be thankin' you, Beth."

She smiled and kissed him, her hands on either side of his face, keeping his lips pressed against hers. It was like she could taste how sweet her name was coming from his mouth.

Eventually, the crowd dwindled and the party came to an end. When Rio got to Beth's house to drop her off, saying goodbye seemed out of the question to both of them so she went inside and relieved the babysitter before making sure the kids were asleep and calling Rio to come inside.

They both undressed and stepped into the running shower, warm water flowing over their bodies as they sensually kissed one another. Rio stared at Beth like she was a work of art and she did the same to him. He was rock hard by the time they finished their wet make out session so she dropped to her knees when he turned the water off. She looked up into his dark, lust filled eyes. The way Beth ran her nails down his thighs had his dick at attention. She took him into her hand, hot and heavy, before licking up the underside of his erect penis.

A shiver ran through his body.

When she got to the head, she took it into her mouth, slowly and softly sucking as her tongue pressed against the tip. She let the saliva and precum gathering together drip down his shaft before stroking it with her hand. She took more of him into her mouth while her hand continued to work him. She hummed and it caused a vibration that was so delicious to Rio's member, making his hips jerk a little.

She pulled him out of her mouth with an audible pop and brought her free hand up to join in rhythm with her other hand. When she looked up at him this time, he was laser focused on what her hands were doing.

After a few more strokes, she lowered her head back down, taking him back into her mouth. She kept going until her lips met her single hand that gripped the bottom of his shaft. She gagged when he hit the back of her throat and she could tell that he was trying to hold back and be gentle with her.

Gripping the back of his thigh with one hand and working his cock with her other, she kept him at the back of her throat for as long as she could. When she finally pulled back to catch her breath, the look of amazement on his face was taken as a compliment to her.

"Damn, mama." he moaned, looking at her face now.

She smiled up at him before putting her mouth and hand back to work. And now that he knew how much she could take, he didn't hold back. Running his hand through her hair and stilling it, he held her in place while he pumped in and out of her open mouth.

"Shit, I'm about to come." he groaned when she ran her fingernails own his thigh again.

She moved her head back, only working the tip with her mouth now, and began quickly stroking him with both hands. He grunted and she felt thick ropes of cum shoot into her mouth. She happily swallowed the contents before slowing her hands down. He was shaking at the tiniest bit of movement from her hands as he softened.

He placed his hand under her chin and pulled her up to him.

"You fuckin' amaze me." he complimented before kissing her.

Once they dried off, Beth completed her nightly routine and slipped into some silk pajama shorts with a matching top. When she lifted the covers to join Rio in her bed, she saws that he didn't have single piece of thread on.

"Rio." she laughed, getting into bed anyway.

"What? I ain't got nothin' here to wear." he explained.

"So this is what you came up with?"

"And 'cause this dick might need some attention later tonight. You so full of surprises, I don't wanna wait too long to get to the next one."

She shook her head and moved closer to him, laying her head on his chest. She heard Rio lightly snoring, then fell asleep herself soon after he did. Both of them amazingly satisfied just to be wrapped up in each other.


End file.
